October’s video game release calendar is a little too stacked

October is a lousy month for games. It’s just stuffed full of some of the biggest releases of the year. Remember back in the summer when Tears of the Kingdom, Diablo IV, and Final Fantasy XVI all released in the span of five weeks? October is that on steroids — a greater number of high-profile games concentrated in a much shorter stretch of time. Here’s what we’re looking at.

• Wargroove 2 - October 5th

Assassin’s Creed Mirage - October 5th

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is billed as a return to the series’ action-adventure roots. The game returns to the Middle East having you play as Basim, a character AC fans might recognize from Valhalla as he comes into his own as a Hidden One, the precursors to the Assassins. Ubisoft is all in on Assassin’s Creed. There’s a live-action Netflix series in the works, a mobile game, Assassin’s Creed Jade, and three more Assassin’s Creed projects — Hexe, Red, and Infinity — for which we’re still waiting on details.

• Detective Pikachu - October 6th
• NHL 24 - October 6th
• Forza Motorsport - October 10th
• Roblox on PlayStation - October 10th
• Honkai: Star Rail on PS5 - October 11th
• Lords of the Fallen - October 13th
• Hellboy Web of Wyrd - October 18th

This part of October gets absolutely unmanageable with hit after hit after hit launching in the same week.

Sonic Superstars - October 17th

Sonic Superstars is no Sonic Mania 2, but judging from all the trailers I’ve seen, it might as well be. Like Mania, Superstars combines classic 2D side-scrolling with modern Sonic remixes like new power-ups and four-player co-op.

• Gargoyles Remastered - October 19th
• The 7th Guest VR - October 19th

Super Mario Bros. Wonder - October 20th

Everyone’s gonna have their eyes on Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Not only is it a Mario game launching in time for the holiday Switch-buying season but it’ll also be the first time longtime Mario voice performer Charles Martinet will not be playing the role of the titular plumber. Nintendo’s been secretive about who it got to step into the overalls, saying that we’ll know when we roll credits in Wonder. So expect folks to speedrun the game so we can finally find out.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 - October 20th

Miles Morales and Peter Parker are two great Spiders-Men that work great together. In Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (get it, because there are two of them in this one), we’ll get to web-sling through New York, playing as either Miles or Peter to take down a host of threats including Venom and Kraven the Hunter.

• Metal Gear Solid Collection - October 24th
• Cities: Skylines II - October 24th
• Dave the Diver on Switch - October 26th
• Ghostrunner 2 - October 26th

Alan Wake 2 - October 27th 

Thirteen years after the first game’s launch, Alan Wake is back to solve murders most foul. Alan Wake 2, launching in October, is a gift for the people who love spooky season. It’s not my kinda game, but a lot of people whose opinions I trust and value are geeked as hell about this, and I’m happy for them.

Honorable mentions

These games don’t launch strictly in October, but they’re close enough to count.

• El Paso, Elsewhere - September 26th
• Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - September 26th

I don’t know why the entire collective of video game developers decided to choose October to get crazy, and while the slate of releases is honestly amazing, I hope something like this never happens again. This is just too many games.